Changes in H-1B Visa Application Process to Make Hiring of Foreign Professionals Tough

The U.S. government has introduced some new provisions for H-1B labor condition application form, that require employers to reveal the total number of H-1B employees hired by them. The disclosure of such numbers may pose difficulties before employers in hiring new foreign nationals.

The Trump administration is taking tough actions in line with its “Buy American and Hire American” strategy to control the numbers of H-1B visa, which is a highly sought work visa for Indian professionals. It is a non-immigrant visa that allows companies in the United States to employ foreign workers in specialty professions such as IT.

Under the latest changes in the H-1B labor condition application form, the employers will now have to provide detailed information regarding H-1B worker employment conditions.

It will be mandatory for the employers to follow these norms, as every time they sponsor and hire any foreign national under H-1B visa scheme, they need the department’s approval, reported PTI.

The information released by the U.S. Department of Labor says that employers will now have to disclose to the department about all places, where it has employed workers under the H-1B program. Employers will have to tell about all such employees to the department, both long and short term.

The changes also require an employer to provide the estimated number of H-1B workers at each place of intended employment.

The enforcement of these changes into the application process will need the employers to clearly identify those secondary units, where H-1B workers are deployed. It also seeks to know about the H-1B dependent employers, who are claiming an exemption solely on the basis of education, such as a master’s degree, to provide documentation of the degree, says Department of Labor.

The new forms updated with the latest changes will be available in the coming weeks. An announcement on the Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s website will disclose the date for the availability of these updated forms.

National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) had said in its report in July that the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration has led to increased denials of H-1B visas to highly educated foreign workers including Indians. U.S. companies raised their concerns on increased denials of working visas to the foreign nationals and said that it is hurting their businesses.